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Tuesday, November 29, 2016

PASS IT ON!

Did you at any time in your life enjoy help from anybody
anywhere under God's sun?

Have you ever been at the receiving end of a pleasant
exchange, a selfless act, a loving gesture?

Has someone, anyone ever had your back, been there for
you, stood in for you, cleaned up after you, served you, upheld you in prayer,
ministered to you?

Did anyone at any time ever bestow on you the gift of
compassion, of understanding, of quiet acquiescence?

Have you ever enjoyed the gift of genuine, caring, deep
friendship that transcends class, tribe, race, social strata and the like?

Did someone choose to withhold judgement against you when
they could have done otherwise?

Has anyone put in a good word for you where it really
mattered, even when you were not aware?

Has anyone ever forgiven you for a wrong, a mistake,
whatever?

Have you ever had the good fortune of being loved, being
welcomed, being accepted, being appreciated?

Have you ever been apologized to by anyone, been asked for
forgiveness?

On your life's journey so far, I wonder if anyone has ever
given you a cup of water, given you food, nourishment or the like?

Did anyone ever show you the way when you were lost?

Have you ever experienced the joy of someone being there
for you when you needed it the most?

In your moments of sorrow, was there ever anyone who
mourned, grieved and cried with you?

Has anyone ever showed up to celebrate with you when you
had a joyous occasion to celebrate?

Has anything of value ever come to you from someone at
sometime in your life?

Has someone ever shared something they own with you?

Have you ever had someone shun the limelight and stayed in
the background to make sure things went well and that your show did not flop?
Someone working behind the scenes for your show?

Has anyone ever freely used their expertise, professional
know-how, talent, skill or connections to help you make something good happen?

Have people ever spent and been spent on your account?

Have you ever received a word of encouragement from
someone? A pat on the back? Has your input or sacrifice sometime, somewhere
ever been gratefully acknowledged by someone? Have the words 'thank you' ever
been directed at you?

Has someone assisted you personally at work, at home, on
the field, anywhere; lightening your load?

Have you had someone ever do menial jobs for you so you
could concentrate on the big issues with success?

Has someone more highly placed than you graciously given
you the undeserved privilege of access to them?

Have you ever been the recipient of a warm smile, a
brotherly embrace, a reassuring, tight hug?

For me, my answer to all of the above and so much more is
a reverberating, resounding yes, yes oh yes!!!

In my life so far, I have undoubtedly enjoyed the
graciousness of the human spirit demonstrated towards me ( and my family) in
tearful proportions. And for that I owe a huge debt of gratitude.

I know for sure that if this post was about how many times
people have let us down, disappointed us, been rude to us, been ungrateful,
cheated us, denied us, abused us, taken advantage of us etc there will be not
enough room to contain our comments and likes!

But no that is not my focus today. We have had enough of
that already.

Ok so why am I all up in your personal business today, you
may be wondering?

Today, as we stand on the threshold of the last month of the
year 2016, I am challenging myself and asking you all to please join me to
focus on the benevolence of people towards us.

Let us think back on the one and maybe many incidents that
brought joy to our hearts because of someone or some people's kindness and
love.

Let us relish and be grateful for the blessings and show
of affection bestowed on us by people.

We have been hurt.

Disappointed.

Stabbed in the back. Treated unfairly and on and on....

Thank God however that our story is not limited to these
negative happenings.

There have been good times too. With good people. At
different times. In different locations.

So, here is the deal: not only should we reminisce and
gloat in the memories of people's acts of largesse towards us, we should also
go ahead from today and PASS IT ON!

I am determined to duplicate every act of kindness in my
direction in other people's lives.

Pass it on.

Repeat the kind deeds you received in someone else's life.

Pass it on.

Don't let kindness die with you.

Conversely, be determined TO NEVER REPEAT THE WRONGS METED
OUT TO YOU ON OTHERS.

You were treated unfairly, so determine not to do that to
others.

You were betrayed and stabbed in the back; make sure you
never do that to anyone in life. Never ever!

Pass on the light of life, of love, peace, harmony.

Remember how you felt when you were treated right? Well,
make someone else feel that way. DELIBERATELY.

Go out of your way to duplicate in the lives of others
ONLY the good that you have enjoyed from other people.

Let evil die with you, but never let good end at your
doorstep.

Pass it on...today. Tomorrow . Always...

31 "Here is
a simple rule of thumb for behavior: Ask yourself what you want people to do
for you; then grab the initiative and do it for them! If you only love the
lovable, do you expect a pat on the back? Run-of-the-mill sinners do that. If
you only help those who help you, do you expect a medal? Garden-variety sinners
do that. If you only give for what you hope to get out of it, do you think
that's charity? The stingiest of pawnbrokers does that.

Luke 6:31-34 (The Message Bible).

P.S. Don't forget that every act is a seed and harvest
time is coming for every seed sown by others to you and by you to others.

Hmm, the choices we make. For many of us, "Passing it on" voluntarily isn't very hard when the recipient is a decent soul. It isn't, even when he's a total stranger we're not likely to meet again. Infact, its quite satisfying to find that I can add value to the life experience of another.

On the other hand, if he happens to be some obnoxious character who's offended me in the recent past ... now, that's challenging. I find that hard, because I may look weak, or stupid, or subservient in the eyes of others. It helps me in such circumstances to remind the Christ, "Its for you I'm doing this ooh; just so you may see the labour of your soul in me. As for this ..."